Owen
Kali
LeightonFiled under: Music, Politics | Tags: 2008 election, alaska, daily show, hip hop, kid cudi, man on the moon, quitting, rap, sarah palin, suck, vice president
I think we’re all familiar with Sarah Palin, 2008 vice presidential candidate. One of the more compelling new political figures to emerge on the scene. She is revered by some and hated by others, but either way people are passionate about her.
Within the hip hop community Kid Cudi is just as divisive, and the similarity’s don’t end there. Lemme run down some more of the striking similarities between Mrs. Palin and The Cudder.
1. They’re both originals.
What I have to give both Mrs. Palin and Kid Cudi for is that their new. It’s rare to see big national politicians that aren’t from the American mainland, especially not female ones. Nonetheless a moose-hunting hockey MILF. And suburban film students from the American heartland don’t typically break on the rap charts. Particularly those who emo rap over techno music. So yeah, they’re “breaths of fresh air”, a refreshing departure from the norm. And they both had the courage to be themselves when I’m sure many told them that people with their perspectives don’t make it. Fortunately for them they did make it. Unfortunately for us, being new doesn’t require and skill or talent of any kind.
2. They both suck at their jobs.
Sarah Palin is an idiot. That’s an exaggeration but even those who like wouldn’t argue that she’s the brightest bulb in the drawer. She’s a moving speaker, a charming, feisty and likeable figure, and cute as hell. I’m sure these qualitites served her well in her earlier career as a sportscaster. But now, she’s a politician. And she appears to know very little, or at least be very uncomfortable, discussing actual political policy. So as nice as it would seem to be to have someone like her in a national office, she wouldn’t be capable of it. She just doesn’t have the tools to be good at it, and were all better off that she isn’t in office.
Filed under: Music | Tags: hip hop, how to make it in america, kid cudi, lyricism, man on the moon, Music, rap, taste
Because of a recent post I made on my other blog, I wanted to get the conversation started again in what I’ve started to affectionately call, The Monkey Room.
The post was about the new show How To Make It In America. It features Kid Cudi as part of the cast and although he has a pretty minor role, my esteem for him as an artist was why I tuned in in the first place. Writing about Cudi reminded me of a conversation Me, Kali, L and another friend of ours had about him on a car ride home one night.
Basically, Me and L are big fans of Cudi and Kali thinks that he’s terrible, (which he is). But as the conversation went on it turned from just a squabble over taste to a discussion of fundamental preferences when choosing who and what we listen to.
Before I go on, here’s a perfect example of why you can either love or hate him.
Filed under: Film, Girls, Music, TV, Web | Tags: alicia keys, avatar, aziz ansari, back to the feature, ben stiller, blakroc, conan o'brien, district 9, eminem, empire state of mind, flu shot girl, forever, gorillaz, hank azaria, james cameron, jay-z, Kanye West, lady gaga, michael bay, mo'nique, mos def, night at the museum, only built for cubal linx part 2, paparazzi, parks and recreation, plastic beach, precious, raekwon, rosa acosta, star trek, stephen colbert, the ecstatic, tom haverford, tonight show, transformers 2, wale, welcome to heartbreak, wu-tang, zoe saldana
So with the passing of the Grammys, the Oscars are left as the only major award show left for 2009. Which means it’s high time for our own Year-End Awards. I know you’re thinkin’ it’s late, but really we’ve had more time for 2009 to sink in. Without further ado, here are our picks for the best and worst of 2009.
Entertainer of the Year: Stephen Colbert
This was a tough category, but really there aren’t many professions in the entertainment industry where you even have the opportunity to deliver all year long. In that respect a late night talk show gives you a bit of an advantage, but even then Colbert beat out tons of competition. Put simply this was a year fro politics. It was the first year of the first term of the first black president and the country was in a pretty shitty state. Thankfully we had Colbert’s unique brand of satirical punditry to guide us through. Without it, all of the ridiculous political posturing would have been infuriating instead of hilariously frustrating. Highlight of the year: Colbert’s gets his head shaved.
Film of the Year: District 9
My favorite kind of film. Intelligent, entertaining, unconventional, probing and badass. This is the kind of film I hope to make on day. You come for the action/coolness, stay for the social implications, and leave with questions. And it’s real as hell.
TV Show of the Year: The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien
There were better shows this year. There were certainly shows I watched more often. But in the wake of everything that’s happened at NBC over the past few weeks, it seems only right to hand this honor over to this now defunct incarnation of the Tonight Show. It was very good, and it could have been great with a little more time. That said the seven months we got were still entertaining as hell.
Album of the Year: “Only Built For Cuban Linx Part 2″ by Raekwon
If anyone was still wondering if Wu Tang was forever, here’s your answer. Raekwon delivers the best Wu album in basically a decade, and an instant classic. What’s so extraordinary about the second Purple Tape is that it’s this good without a signature cut. New Wu is the head nodder but really the whole album unravels like one intricate tapestry, songs interwoven together. It’s truly a singular piece of art.
Filed under: Music | Tags: 3rd Degree, album, andrew kitchen, apology, birthday, chris spurrier, controversy, disabled, dj hero, drinking, eminem, gay, handicapped, hip hop, JFK, jon seigler, jordan, kennedys, offensive, owl grenade project, r bar, rap, remix, retard, special olympics, taking my ball, verbal phantom, vinny valente, vp
Here’s a new track from my homeboy vP A.K.A. verbal PHANTOM, and it’s not a nice song. As a white rapper I know vP, or Vinny as I call him, has to fend off a constant slew of Eminem comparisons, but on this occasion it’s warranted.
This shit has the Em-like ability to get your head noddin’ and shaking at the same time. You enjoy it, but you feel a little guilty about it after. Plus it’s over the beat for Shady’s “Taking My Ball” and features my homeboy JFK and some other guy who’s definitely not me on the hook and first verse. Here’s “sPeshal oLimpicz” (Yes, he actually spelled it like that).
Filed under: Music, Politics | Tags: beatbox, freestyle, fugees, mc, Music, natasha bedingfield, noble prize, obama, party, racism, rapper's delight, toby keith, will smith, wyclef
I’ve never wanted to win a Nobel Prize until now. There is no prize for freestyling. Just a heads up.
Will Smith, Wyclef, Natasha Bedingfield and Toby Keith (Yes, Toby Keith) hold it down for the Nobel Peace Prize after party. This is one of the illest things I’ve ever seen. It’s just so hip hop. Freestyling, beatboxing, free spirited collaboration, and partyin’. Race, nationality, genre, they don’t matter. No one cares about anything except havin’ a good time. In this setting Toby Keith singing “Killin’ Me Softly”, and spitting “Rapper’s Delight” (he knows every word) seems completely natural. So does Natasha Bedingfield going in on “Ready or Not”. (more…)
Filed under: Music | Tags: DJ Benzi, Kanye West, Mixtapes, Music, party, Plain Pat
On any given day you can find me perusing my iTunes selection… Looking for the perfect song to match each n every breaking moment of my day. The soundtrack of my life, blaring through the headphones in the theater of my mind. I call my iTunes library ‘tear the hear from the cadaver’ – Cuz if my hard drive crashed… These bones would be all that’s left.
Maybe, that’s a lil much but… ah moving on, A Blizzard hit NJ and I was stuck at home ALL DAY. So, I set out to make the perfect party bangers playlist of 09′…
While sifting through files, I found this DJ BENZI + Plain Pat Collabo… something I downloaded a while ago n never got to bump. I unzipped that son of a B*tch n was Rockin for the rest of the day. Every track made it to the playlist. Got me feeling G double O, D…. Good!
An eclectic take on Mr. West tracks remixed by some of the world’s most renowned DJ’s> Diplo, A-trak, Stretch Armstrong just to name a few…
Hands Down the best PARTY BANGERS MIXTAPE of 09′ – Thoughtsof_L
*************************Seal of Approval**************************
http://www.zshare.net/download/53914692c9e4d03e/
Filed under: Music, Web | Tags: acoustic, jimmy fallon, late night, live performances, Music, remix, the roots
I found a site with all the live performances from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon that featured the Roots, with video and audio downloads. Including my personal favorite “Casa Bey” by Mos Def. Pure crack. Click the pic for the link.
Kali, the Boogey-Magnetic
Filed under: Music | Tags: atbann klan, bep, black, black eyed peas, blackface, coon, dance, hip hop, i gotta feeling, producer, racism, techno, uncle tom, will.i.am
Although the song has been out for what seems like forever, I was only able to see the video for the Black Eyed Peas song, “I Gotta Feeling” a few weeks ago. My first reaction was that it looked like alot of fun to shoot. My second reaction came about 3 minutes in when I saw the final setup. Somehow, the directors, producers and talent thought it would be a good idea to paint the eyes and lips of their frontmen in glow in the dark paint and turn off the lights.
I’m pretty sure this is blackface.
I wouldn’t call it blackface, but it is not a good look. I feel like the characters from Avatar should be a little offended though. But I’m a little biased because I fuckin’ hate the peas. They are the poster children for sellouts. They used to make soulful hip hop and now they make techno “guido pop“. And soulful hip hop does not mean “Where’s the Love?” which I can’t really hate on. But there latest shit, I mean c’mon.
